For its collection, Torys seeks out work by younger artists who will be stars in the future, says Philip Mohtadi in Toronto Star

Corporate Art: Not Just Pretty Pictures

Art Gallery of Mississauga curator Geraldine Davis says she would have expected much of the art that is tucked away in corporations and law offices to be merely decorative. Instead, she has found that companies are appreciating art on an entirely new level.

In the gallery's current exhibition Art at Work: Corporate Collecting Practices Today is a photographic print by Kelly Wood of a bag of trash in a white room. Ms. Wood spent years photographing her trash in a pristine studio environment. A similar six-foot-high image by Ms. Wood hangs in a conference centre at Torys. The firm contributed to the Mississauga exhibition and is known for its vast contemporary collection.

Phil Mohtadi says the print was initially one of the more controversial of Torys' 400 to 500 Canadian works. "I think some people thought it reflected poorly on the firm," or was in some way indicative of the work taking place in that area of the building. The firm makes a point of scouting "younger artists who will be stars in the future."